Artist description An "IN YOUR FACE" mix of heavy blues and "DIRTY" rock.

Music Style Blues/Rock

Group Members Little Jimmy, Mark Hansen, Andy Blochowiak

Instruments Guitar, Bass, Drums

Albums Even Angels Got To Cry, Tryin' To Find My Baby

Press Reviews JOURNAL SENTINAL ARTICLE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BY NICK CARTER Of the Journal Sentinel staff “Guitar-slinging blues.” “Texas-style blues.” “Southern-man blues.” Whatever term such an approach goes by these days, there’s no disputing that various forms of blues and blues-rock have been around a long time - from the days of T-Bone Walker to Albert Collins and Albert King to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan to Jonny Lang. Sticking to the tents of blues rock on the local front is guitarist Jimmy James, as in the name of the trio, Little Jimmy & the Blackbirds. Of those blues-guitar styles and players mentioned above, James most models his approach after that of King, his idol, with more recent guitar influences Luther Allison and Otis Rush tied for a close second. While James, 21, offers a distinction in his playing that suggests a strong respect for the tried-and-true ways of his inspirations, he’s also not afraid to contemporize those influences. During live shows, James plays a bit with the feedback creeping out of his Fender Stratocaster guitar during traditional blues songs; he’ll even reel off the occasional roaming solo that’ll send him and his band into musical terrain unexpected of most slow hands. “I try to let a mood or inspiration of the moment take hold and run with it,” James said. “I try to let it lead me into a new direction but not let it get too far away from the spirit of the song.” The rawness of youth combined with natural talent and the unfettered spirit of a musical seeker . . . If you’re not overly obsessed with polish and seasoning, it can make for an inspiring mix. Earlier this summer, the young blues disciple even decided to set off (in his unblues-man-like ’95 Eagle Summit) southward, ax in the trunk, to get a feel for the terrain from whence his influences came. Once there, James managed to hook up with a few players In Memphis who used to regularly back Albert King. He wound up sitting in on their set at B.B. King’s Blues Club on Beale St. During a show last summer at a Riverwest pub, James ran through a set that included covers ranging from B.B. King’s “Sweet Little Angel” and Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” to Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” and Elmore James’ “The Sun is Shining But It’s Raining In My Heart.” But James makes sure he doesn’t include too much cover material in his shows. Originals make up a good 80% of a typical Blackbirds show. James’ originals, such as “I’ve Been Trying to Find My Baby,” “How Could You Do A Thing Like This To Me?” and “An Evening on Venus,” suggest the influence of, in turn, Albert King, Allison and Hendrix – yet the overall results are clearly the author’s own. What prevails is more a sense of inspiration than emulation. “Hey, you’ve got to study before you take the test, right?” James said. “So I try to stay in touch with the power and feeling I’ve received from the players I’ve loved the most, and from there carve the results into something of my own.” Now he and his fellow Blackbirds – drummer Andy Blochowiak and bassist Mark Hansen – are doing their best to stamp their own signature on a well-worn musical trail.

Location Milwaukee, Wisconsin - USA

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